About 20,000 In Singapore Affected By Subsidy Error Due To System Glitch

By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz

SINGAPORE, July 21 (Bernama) -- About 20,000 individuals in Singapore were affected by a processing error in the Health Ministry’s means-testing system, resulting in incorrect subsidy or grant amounts, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said on Monday.

In a statement, MOH said that in the majority of cases, individuals received higher-than-intended subsidies or grants while a minority received lower-than-intended amounts.

The ministry said that in January, the Household Means Eligibility System (HOMES) was unable to appropriately account for the business income of selected individuals following changes in data processing timelines.

This led to inaccurate means-testing for individuals with business income and their household members between Jan 1 and 27.

“These affected individuals represent less than three per cent of all individuals means-tested during this period. Corrections to subsidy and grant levels are in progress,” the ministry said.

About 19,000 individuals were affected under MOH schemes, while around 1,000 were impacted for schemes under the Early Childhood Development Agency, Social and Family Development Ministry, Education Ministry, and Infocomm Media Development Authority.

MOH said those who received an over-subsidy will not be required to return the overpaid amounts, while reimbursement payments to those who received lower-than-intended subsidies or grants will be completed by November 2025.

“Agencies will reach out to inform affected individuals progressively,” MOH said.

-- BERNAMA